Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $91.9048.

A number of research firms have recently commented on SF. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Stifel Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, UBS Group set a $90.00 price target on Stifel Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

SF stock opened at $81.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.98. Stifel Financial has a 12-month low of $67.81 and a 12-month high of $89.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $79.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.27.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.09. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 16.11% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.71 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Stifel Financial will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is currently 24.33%.

Insider Activity

In other Stifel Financial news, Director Maryam Brown sold 4,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.20, for a total value of $372,240.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $453,736.80. This represents a 45.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Stifel Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Stifel Financial by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Stifel Financial in the second quarter worth about $698,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Stifel Financial by 6,765.3% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 12,188,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $850,394,000 after buying an additional 12,011,002 shares during the last quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Stifel Financial by 48.6% in the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 7,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 2,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Stifel Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $215,000. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stifel Financial Company Profile

Stifel Financial Corp. is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1890, the firm has grown into a full?service brokerage and investment banking organization serving individual investors, corporations and institutions. Through its principal subsidiary, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, the company delivers a broad array of financial products and services backed by research?driven insights.

The firm’s main business activities are organized into two core segments: Private Client Group and Institutional Group.